Fact Check: Is Bodkin based on a true story? Explained

Netflix has added another crime miniseries to its roster with the release of Bodkin on May 9, 2024. The series follows a trio of podcasters who travel to the Irish town of Bodkin to investigate a string of mysterious disappearances during the town's annual Samhain celebration over 25 years ago.

Reported to be a commentary on the true-crime podcast genre, the official synopsis of the show on Netflix reads:

"A ragtag crew of podcasters sets out to investigate mysterious disappearances from decades earlier in a charming Irish town with dark, dreadful secrets."

The trailer and the poster for Bodkin include the tag "based on a true story," which might lead viewers to believe that the series is inspired by real-life events. However, the Netflix series is entirely fictional.

---

Netflix's Bodkin is not based on a true story

A collage of three posters of the show (Image via Netflix)

While the marketing of the new Netflix miniseries might give the impression that Bodkin is inspired by a true story, a closer look reveals that this is not the case. The "based on a true story" tagline is marked with an asterisk, which is revealed in the trailer as a footnote that states:

"Overheard in a pub."

The same is written on the poster of the show in a small font.

It is a clever marketing strategy used by the show to garner interest among viewers of true-crime content. The footnote also reveals a humorous side, highlighting that the show is self-aware and not attempting to intentionally dupe viewers in bad faith.

Netflix describes the seven-episode show as:

"Funny, though not a comedy; and a true crime story, though entirely fictional."

Will Forte as Gilbert (Image via Netflix)

Executive producer Alex Metcalf clarified:

It’s a fake town, it’s a fake place. It’s all fake people. The mystery itself, we worked very hard to find something that is in no way adjacent to a real true crime story. The fictionality of it was very deliberate."

Series creator Jeff Scharf revealed that he was inspired by the true-crime podcasts Serial and S-Town and his habit of consuming such content. He also mentioned that he began to contemplate extensively the morality of true crime, noting that tragic stories were often packaged into neat episodes with a good hook at the end.

Serial is often cited as one of the first and best-known true-crime podcasts. Since its inception in 2014, it has gone on to inspire countless true crime iterations all over the world. However, S-Town's unexpected method of story-telling is what influenced the narrative of Bodkin. Scharf revealed:

"That’s one where you come in thinking it’s going to be about a murder, but then the story just spins out in ways that you don’t expect. That was the kind of journey that we were trying to map ourselves against — that the truth is always kind of unexpected."

Gilbert, Dove, and Emmy (Image via Netflix)

Bodkin stars Will Forte as Gilbert, an enthusiastic American podcaster on the hunt for his next big story. However, his sunny personality hides something dark underneath. The show also stars Siobhan Cullen as an investigative journalist named Dove and Robyn Cara as Emmy.

---

All seven episodes of Bodkin are currently available to stream on Netflix.